Fears and Phobias
by wunderwolfer
Summary: No-one ever said that the brave huntress was fearless; that would just be unnatural.


Wrote this quick but I hope you like it anyway.

**Rating**: K

**Disclaimer**: Square Enix owns it all.

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After yet another long day, Fang and Lightning trekked back to camp in comfortable, companionable silence. The two warriors had made good progress scouting ahead of the rest of the group so despite their exhaustion they felt exuberant, but their successful day's work wasn't the only reason for their matching smiles. Lightning was smiling because she finally found someone whose company she could tolerate for almost an entire day. And Fang was smiling because she loved spending the day with the soldier. Their strong bond had been inevitable really; both of them were strong warriors, both adept in battle, both protective over their loved ones and both of them defiant and fearless...or at least they both thought so.

"Arrgghhh!" Fang suddenly screamed, ducking her head. Instinctively Lightning ducked as well, turning to follow Fang's gaze to face their currently invisible enemy.

"What? What is it?"Lightning asked, she still couldn't see a thing but remained on high alert. Judging by Fang's anxious expression the huntress must have seen a terrible foe so Lightning took her battle stance grinding her feet into the dirt as she unsheathed her gunblade.

The huntress ignored her, too terrified to listen and screamed again, spinning around and around as she frantically waved her hands above her head. Dizzy and blinded by fear she stumbled backwards crashing straight into Lightning and nearly knocking them both to the ground.

"What is it?" she barked sternly at the distressed huntress who managed to stop herself from falling over and jumped behind the soldier using her as a barrier. Lightning was eager to help the brunette but she needed direction, she needed a target. It must be a most devilish foe indeed for the brave huntress to act so cowardly - it made the soldier feel uneasy. But she didn't want to appear weak in front of an enemy and so utilised every facet of her training to mask her slight anxiety as the huntress pointed a shaking finger over Lightning's shoulder.

"Wasp," Fang said identifying her assailant.

"A what?" There was such a vast array of unusual creatures in pulse and so Lightning wasn't surprised that she had never heard of a hideous beast called a wasp. _Is it some sort of invisible monster? _Lightning wondered as she surveyed the general direction of where Fang was pointing, because all she could see was a very small flying creature.

"Wasp. Wasp. WAAAAASSSP!" Fang said with heightened terror as the insect came closer to them, until unable to contain her fear the cowering huntress pushed the soldier into the insect's path.

"The bug!" Lightning said in astonishment as Fang scurried away from the brute which, with an unhurried nonchalant grace reserved for the flying insects, buzzed around Lightning and followed the retreating brunette._ How could she be afraid of a bug? _Her fear seemed very disproportionate to the threat.

"You don't understand," Fang yelled as she ducked, dived and sprinting across the small clearing trying to lose the pursuing insect. "They're evil incarnate, spawn of the fal'Cie bastards!"

Lightning raised her gun, tracking the winged beast, watching and and waiting for an opening in Fang's skirmish that would allow her to shoot the small monster without hitting Fang. Lightning always considered Fang's fighting style to be an elegant display of deadly power as she span and danced across the field with her lance, cutting down their enemies with a skilled ease. So she could not help but look on in slight astonishment as Fang ran wildly around the small clearing in front of her waving her lance around and wailing in terror.

"Have they got magical powers? An ultimate weapon?"

"Nooo, they have a really nasty sting," Fang whined, releasing her lance to attack the beast.

"Does the sting produce a deadly poison?" Lightning shouted.

"Not really." With a battle cry Fang lashed out aiming her lance at the beast to bring it down, each time missing the evasive enemy to let her weapon crash to the ground. "Unless you're allergic. It just really, really hurts...a bit"

Lightning looked over her aim at the Pulsian. "So it doesn't kill you?" She frowned as Fang frantically shook her head without looking away from her enemy. "It just stings...a bit?" Fang yelled the affirmative trying to stab her tiny assailant with the bladed tip of her relatively large lance.

Lightning lowered her gun with an arched, questioning eyebrow. "You don't understand," Fang repeated as Lightning rolled her eyes, "it's evil, Eeeevvillll," she paused her attacks to scream at the bug and yelped as it flew towards her face. She dashed across the clearing to hide behind the soldier again. "There shifty and relentlessly aggressive, always looking for a fight" she quietly explained from behind her as they both watched the insect buzz around in front of them. Lightning frowned; it almost looked like it was searching or something or something… "All you have to do is touch them or look at them wrong and they attack without mercy," Fang whispered, her voice shaking slightly. "And once they set their sights on you they don't just sting you once, oh no no no, but as many times as they like." _That did not sound very pleasant, _Lightning mentally agreed. "And if there mates are nearby they join in as well to form a great big swarming mass of stings that can chase you for miles. If you try evading them by jumping under water, they wait...they waaaaaiiit," she hissed her voice laced with horror.

Lightning knew that Fang's fear was irrational - it was just a stinging insect - but either due to her respect for the warrior's judgement or their battle telepathy the soldier felt Fang's fear carry over to her. So much so that she recoiled as the insect flew closer.

"It can sense your fear," Fang said with horror and the soldier felt herself tremble slightly at the now monstrous creature.

Lightning's heart beat rapidly, she began to sweat uncontrollably but the soldier bravely faced her fear and with a strong determination raised her weapon. She would face her new fear, she would protect them both. She aimed and fired. The gun smoke cleared and the monster was gone. Lightning smiled victoriously and turned her head to tell the huntress only to be greeted by the wasp now sitting on her shoulder.

"Arrrrgggghhh, it's on me, it's on me!" Lightning yelled. They both screamed as she brushed it from her shoulder and stumbling backwards she knocked both the warriors to the ground. In a frenzy fed by her companion's anxiety she threw her gunblade at the wasp and the two terrified women ran screaming into the Pulsian undergrowth.

xxXOXxx

Snow looked up from his meal. "Did you hear something," he asked the other three with his mouth full. Vanille, Hope and Sazh shook their heads back at him from across the campfire. "I'm sure I heard something." Leaving his food behind him he stood up and walked closer to the edge of their camp cautiously peering into the Pulsian jungle. "It kinda sounded like Fang and Light screaming," he scoffed at the very idea of the warriors screaming, "but that's ridic-." He broke off the end of his sentence as he heard the cries again. "...Sis? Fang?"

Snow yelled in surprise as the two warriors sprang from the vegetation wide-eyed and terrified, and knocked the large man to the floor. "Wasp. Wasp. Waaasssp!" The soldier and huntress screamed in unison. And without stopping to help the fallen unconscious man they ran screaming through the campsite.

Sazh and Hope watched in bewilderment as the fearless warriors scurried around camp fleeing from an invisible opponent. It was every warrior for themselves as they grabbed and pulled on one another's clothes to try and get ahead of eachother. Vanille on the other hand was unperturbed; she's seen it all before. "Wasps," Vanille sighed, shaking her head as she calmly ate her food. "Fang's never liked them ever since she was stung by one as a child, seems like Lightning doesn't like them either." Her two Cocoonian companions looked at her blankly. "The bug," she explained waving her fork towards the small flying insect that was circling the terrified women.

"A bug!" Sazh laughed, highly amused that they could be scared of something so small.

"Hey," Vanille warned him, she didn't like anyone making fun of her sister (except herself of course), "Fears are perfectly natural and ya can't help what you're scared of! I don't like spiders."

After a short pause hope admitted with a blush, "I don't like the dark."

The rest of the group (except Snow who was still unconscious) looked at the older man expectantly. With a relenting sigh he laid down his fork. "Clowns."

"Clowns!" Vanille frowned. "Those jesters we saw at the Eidolon parade?" Sazh answered with a grimace. "But they're so happy and fun...and they're clowns. Kids like 'em."

Feeling defensive Sazh leaned forward suddenly and said in a harsh whisper "They're creepy with the make-up and the oversized shoes. And they laugh all the time, what are they laughing at?" he questioned the world, his eyes large and wild. Even speaking about them seemed like a horrifying experience for the gunslinger.

Dumbfounded by the older man's surprising and rather forceful disclosure the three L'Cie sat in uncomfortable silence; the only sound the distant screams of their two comrades who had fled the camp in despair.

"Well," Vanilla said trying to lighten the mood, "let's hope we never come across a giant, clown faced spider, that lives in the dark and has a big wasp's sting," she chuckled uneasily.

The two men silently scowled at the young red-head."Thanks for the nightmarish image Vanille," Sazh said sarcastically, voicing exactly what they were all thinking - even Vanille in hindsight.

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This oneshot was inspired by an incident with my lovely lady when a queen wasp flew into our flat and my GF bravely stood up and threw me towards the beast as she ran for the exit. What a woman.

Hope you liked it. R and R pretty please.


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